Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-11-24

ing her foot. Has my false lord senttnee
| to me TO insult me- also? WHO AFT thou.
stranger, Shat thou shouldst speak to me,
the Queen, after this sort? How daresl
tnou?p
Yea, 1 dare Listenl The moments
chou dost waste in idle anger may we'll
coss thee thy crown, and az of Us our lives.
| Already S9rais' horsemet. go forth and
call to arms Tn three days time N:ssta
viii rouse himself in his businesses like a
| Lion IN une evening, and his growing vii.
| be heart throughout the North The
Lady OF the Mint (Sarais) hath q swee,
| voice, and she will not SIM in vain. Her
banner Will be borne from range to range
/ ana valley TO valley, and warriors viii
/ spring up Ill its track ike Dust beneath q
| WhlrIWinti; half the army win ecno hef
war-cry, and II every town aad hamlet o.
| TINS wide Iaad the priests VII call soui
| against the f0rei Ener, anu Will t.rests:a Iei
cause as holy. | have spo,,,,n D @ t-en.'
NylePtha was quite calm NOW; Acr jeal.
orls anger had passed: and nutfin- off the
| character Of q lovelv, headstrong lady, she,
| with raDiGity and entirety that distin-
| gllished her, put on that of queen and
| woman of business. The transformation
was sudden but complete
! Thy words are very wise, MacumaZah
| Forgive me my folly. All, what a Qneen
| I should be if only had no heart To be
| heartless-that is to conquer all. Passion
| is like the lightning: it is beautiful and it
| links the earth to heaven; but alas, it
! blindsl
And thou thinkest that my sister Sorais
would levy'war upon me? So be it, She
shall not prevail against me. [, too, have
| my friends and my retainers. There are
many, | say. who viii shout sN-lontha.'
| Wen my DnnnOn runs pom PEI All
pinnacle, and the light of my watch-fires
| leaps tonight from crag to crag, BEARING
| the message of nv war. j will break her
| strength and scatter her armies. Eternal
| night shall be the portion of the Lady of
| the Night Give me that parchment and
| the ink. So. Now summon me the officer
| in the anteroom. He is q trylsty man"
| | did as was bid; and the man, vet
eran and quiet-ooking gentleman of the
guard, named Kara, entered, bowling low.
'''Tal<e this parchment" said Nyleptha,
| ''it is thy warrant; and guard every place
| Of in and outgoing in the apartments of
nv sister Sorais, Lady of the Night and
| Queen of tire ZH-Vendi. Let none come
| in and none go out, or thy life shall pay
| the COST
| The man looked startled but he merely
| said 1.-THE Queens word shall be DONE"
and departed. Then Nvleptha sent mes
| senger to Sir Henry, and presently he ar
| rived, looking uncommonly uncomforta-
| bic. [ thought that another outburst was
about to follow, but wonderful are the
ways of women; she said not word about
| S1rais and his supposed Inconsistency,
| greeting him with friendly nod, and stat
| ING simply that she required his advice ur-
on high matters. All the same there was
a look in her eve. and q sort of suppressed.
energy in her manner towards him, that
makes me think she had not forgotten the
| affair, but was keeping it for private oc-
casion
Just after Curtis arrived the officer re
turned and renortssl that Sorais had gone
The bird had flown to the Temple, stating
that she was going. as was sometimes the
custom among Lu-Vendi ladies of rank 10
spend the night in meditation before the
altar. We looked at each other significant
ly The blow had fallen very soon.
Then we set to work.
Generals who could be trusted were sum-
moned from their quarters, and as much
Of the state of affairs as was thought de-
sirable was told to each, strict inJunctionS
being given to them to get all their availa-
BILE force together. Tho same was done
with such of the more powerful lords as
NvleDtha knew she could rely on, several
of whom left that very day for distant
parts of the country TO gather up their
tribesmen and retainerS. Sealed orders
were dispatched to the rulers of far-oR
cities and some twenty messengers Were
sent off before nightfail with instructions
to ride early ana late till they reached the
distant chiefs to whom their letters Were
addressed; also many spies were set to
work. ALI the afternoon and evening we
scribas, Nyleptha showing an energy and
resource of mind that astonished me; and
il was eight O'Clock before we got back to
our quarters. Here we heard from A.
phonSe, who was deeply aggrieved because
our non-return had spoilt his dinner (for
ne had turned cook again now, that Good
had returned from his hawking and gone
on duty. AS instructions had already been
given to the officer of the outer guard to
double the sentries at the gate, and as we
had no reason to fear any immediate dan
ger, we did not think it worth While to
hunt him up and tell him anything of what
had passed, which, at best, was, under the
peculiar circumstances of the case, one of
those tasks one prefers to postpone; SO af-
ter swallowing our food we turned in to
get some much-needed rest. Before we
IL So haYeVerA it OCCURRED to. CARTS to
tell old UmslopOgaas co keep lookout in
the neighborhood of Nyleptha's private
apartments. UmSlopogaas was now well
known about the place, and by the Queens
order was allowed to pass whittier he would
bv the guards: permission of which he
often awaited himself by roaming about@the
palace during the still hours in a nocturnal
fashion peculiar to himself, and by no
means uncommon amongst black men
generally. His presence in the corridors
would not therefore, be likely to excite
remark Without any comment the Zuiu
took UP his ak and departed; we also de-
parted to bed.
I seemed TO have been asleep but few
minutes when / was awakened by pecul-
lar sensation of uneasiness. | felt that
somebody was in the room and LOOKING at
me, and instantly sat up, to see to my sur
prise that it was already dawn, and that
ut the foot of my couch,
and looking peculiarly grim and gaunt Ia
the gray light, was Umslopogaas himself.
How long hast thou been there" 1
asked testify, for it is no5 pleasant to be
aroused in Sucn a faS lIOn.
"Naynap the half OF an hour, Macuma-
zahn. | have word for thee"
''Speak on" I said, now wide enough
awake.
LAS I was bid, went last night To the
place of the White Queen and hid myself
behind a pillar in the second anteroom, be-
vond which is the sleeping place of the
Queen. Bougwan Good was in the first
anteroom, alone. and outside the curtain
of that room was sentry; but Ihad mind
20 see if I could pass in unseen, and [ did,
Gliding behind them both. There waited
for many hours, when suddenly perceived
a dark figure coming secretly towards me.
1t was the figure of woman, and in her
hand she held sharp knife. Behind that
figure crept another, unseen by the woin-
an IT. was BOupwan following in her